Alert archive / Kansas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1996

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 68, NWS Wichita, KS

May 10, 1996Harper County, Sumner County, Kansas

NWS Wichita, KS issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 10, 1996, 3:37 AM CDT for Harper County, Sumner County, Kansas. It was in force for 38 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued
May 10, 1996, 3:37 AM CDT (08:37 UTC)
Expired
May 10, 1996, 4:15 AM CDT
In force
38 min
Issued by
NWS Wichita, KS
Area
Whole counties

Counties Harper County, KS, Sumner County, KS

The radar

The Wichita radar (KICT), 57 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 08:40 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 10, 4:00 AM CDTThunderstorm Wind 52Belle Plaine, KS

NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in.

The nearest sounding before it

Dodge City, (KDDC), launched 00:00Z, 8.6 hours before the alert went out and 197 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Dodge City, at 00:00Z on 1996-05-10Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1389 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Dodge City, at 00:00Z on 1996-05-10The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 29 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.
Mixed-layer CAPE
1389 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-163 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1865 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
44 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
29 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
156 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

The text of this product is not in the archive. The NWS text archive before 2002 is incomplete.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Wichita, KS wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at May 9, 3:09 PM CDT, 12 hours 28 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 9, 3:09 PM CDT, 12 hours 28 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
305 PM CDT THU MAY 9 1996

DISCUSSION: (GOING WITH PERSISTENCE)

18Z SFC MAP CONTINUES TO SHOW  BOUNDARY WEST OF CWA...DDC 88D SHOWED
BOUNDARY FAIRLY WELL ALSO.  COLD FRONT IS CURRENTLY MOVING THORUGH
NEBRASKA PANHANDLE.  ONLY QUESTION IS WILL THE CAP BREAK DOWN ENOUGH TO
FIRE THUNDERSTORMS TONIGHT. GUSTY SOUTH WINDS CONTINUING TO PUMP MOISTURE
INTO CWA.  LOOKING AT ADAP...CAP STRENGTH NOT ERODING MUCH AS OF NOW...
BUT SHORT WAVE IS STILL TO THE WEST...LOOKING AT WIND PROFILER DATA.
LOOKING AT H5 AND H3 SEE GOOD DIFFLUENCE OVER KANSAS. ALSO SEE GOOD
DIFLUENCE IN THE THICKNESS FIELDS...WHICH SHOULD HELP INDUCE ANOTHER
MESOSCALE CONVECTIVE SYSTEM (MCS)  OVER ENTIRE CWA.  H7 SHOWS PRETTY
GOOD CAP OVER WESTERN KANSAS...WHICH  SHOULD BREAK DOWN SOMEWHAT AS
SHORTWAVE MOVES ACROSS THE STATE.  MODELS  SHOW COOL(COLD) FRONT
CONTINUING TO MOVE SOUTHEAST...WHICH SHOULD AID IN  MOVING SFC BOUNDARY
TO THE EAST WHICH WILL HELP PROVIDE MORE LIFT FOR  THUNDERSTORM
DEVELOPMENT WEST OF CWA.  AS SHORT WAVE MOVES THROUGH THE AREA FEEL
THAT THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY WILL OCCUR...SOME MAY BECOME SEVERE (REPEAT
OF LAST FEW DAYS).

CONSIDERING AMOUNT OF PRECIP THAT HAS OCCURRED OVER CENTRAL CWA AND RENO
AND HARVEY COUNTIES LAST FEW DAYS AND PRECIP RETURNING TONIGHT...FEEL A
FLASH FLOOD WATCH IS A GOOD IDEA FOR TONIGHT.

AS FOR FRIDAY...THUNDERSTORMS FCST LOOK GOOD ALONG WITH SLIGHTLY COOLER
TEMPS.

RSL 059/068 74   SLN 060/070 74
ICT 068/077 75   HUT 065/073 75
CNU 068/079 66

KIRKWOOD

In the hours before

Special weather statement, May 9, 11:04 PM CDT, 4 hours 33 minutes before
KSZ049>053-067>069-082-083-091>093-100430-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
1105 PM CDT THU MAY 9 1996

...TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 329 FOR CENTRAL KANSAS HAS EXPIRED...

THE TOvRNADO WATCH...NUMBER 329...IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT FOR
CENTRAL KANSAS.

KED
Special weather statement, May 10, 2:59 AM CDT, 38 minutes before
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Special weather statement, May 10, 3:02 AM CDT, 35 minutes before
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      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
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        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
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The office that day

Everything else NWS Wichita, KS issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 9, 7:46 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTRice59 min
May 9, 7:53 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTReno67 min
May 9, 8:05 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTMcPherson55 min
May 9, 8:32 PM CDTTornado WarningICTReno43 min
May 9, 9:14 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningICTReno3 hr
May 9, 11:39 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTRussell51 min
May 10, 12:22 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTLincoln53 min
May 10, 12:32 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTBarton, Russell58 min
May 10, 1:07 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTEllsworth53 min
May 10, 1:32 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTBarton43 min
May 10, 2:52 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTHarper38 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Kansas, 1996Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1996

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.